Infrastructure and human resources pose challenges to the agricultural sector

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Supporting infrastructure for agriculture up to the post-harvest period and the necessary human resources are seen as challenges for the development of the Indonesian agricultural sector, said Jarot Indarto, policy analyst at the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas).

During the G20 agriculture sector e-discussion on food resilience and sustainable agriculture on Thursday, he noted that the aging of farmers and fishers in Indonesia posed a challenge to lead medium- and long-term regeneration.

Aging agricultural human resources have limited access to information, market potential and finance, he pointed out.

Currently, data on bank credit financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) does not reach 20 percent, he pointed out.

Based on this figure, agricultural MSMEs have less access to finance than MSMEs in the commercial sector, he noted.

Meanwhile, agricultural infrastructure must continue to be strengthened for the development of Indonesian agriculture to turn into modern agriculture, Indarto stressed.

“The current infrastructure problem leads to problems in improving productivity,” he explained.

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Meanwhile, the policy analyst highlighted the existing problems in terms of the village’s road, energy and communication infrastructure.

“Therefore, technology adoption could become one of our collective efforts to address these challenges,” he remarked.

Moreover, the small size of enterprises in the agricultural sector and high production costs are still challenges that need to be addressed immediately.

Indarto also highlighted the importance of developing a better business partnership between farmers, fishers and related parties.

During the event, the senior researcher of the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), Felippa Amanta, called for strengthening the supply chain of the Indonesian agricultural sector.

This will add value to agricultural products and avoid food loss.

“What we tend to forget about food and agriculture is that the process does not end with harvesting. Then there is an activity that is an inseparable part of the food system,” said- she noted.

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